Health benefits in 2010: Premiums rise modestly, workers pay more toward coverage

Health Affairs

Volumn 29, Issue 10, 2010, Pages 1942-1950

  Claxton, Gary ^a   DiJulio, Bianca ^b   Whitmore, Heidi ^c   Pickreign, Jeremy D ^d   McHugh, Megan ^e   Osei Anto, Awo ^e   Finder, Benjamin ^b  

^a HENRY J KAISER FAMILY FOUNDATION   (United States)

^b Health Care Marketplace Project   (United States)

^c Health Policy Center   (United States)

^d NORC   (United States)

^e Health Research and Educational Trust   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ARTICLE; COST; ECONOMICS; HEALTH INSURANCE; HUMAN; INSURANCE; ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT; UNITED STATES;

COST SHARING; HEALTH BENEFIT PLANS, EMPLOYEE; HUMANS; INSURANCE COVERAGE; UNITED STATES;

EID: 78951491563     PISSN: 02782715     EISSN: 15445208     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1377/hlthaff.2010.0725     Document Type: Article

References (14)

1. Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured. The uninsured: a primer [Internet]. Menlo Park (CA): Kaiser Family Foundation; 2009 Oct [cited 2010 Jul 1]. Available from: http://www.kff.org/uninsured/upload/7451-05_Data_Tables.pdf
2. The Appendix can be accessed by clicking on the Appendix link in the box to the right of the article online.
3. Health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) are medical care reimbursement plans established by employers that can be used by employees to pay for health care. They are funded solely by employers. There is no legal requirement for the minimum deductible in a plan offered with a health reimbursement arrangement. Health savings accounts are savings accounts created by individuals to pay for health care. An individual may establish an account if he or she is covered by a "qualified health plan," which is a plan with a high deductible (a deductible of at least $1,200 for single coverage and $2,400 for family coverage in 2010) that also meets other requirements. Both employers and employees can contribute to a health savings account, up to a statutory cap.
4. For more information on highdeductible plans with a savings option, see Kaiser Family Foundation, Health Research and Educational Trust. Kaiser/HRET survey of employer health benefits [Internet]. Menlo Park (CA): KFF; 2010 Sep. Available from: http://www.kff.org/insurance/8085/index.cfm
5. This and previous surveys use the April-to-April time period, as do the sources in this and the following note. U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Consumer Price Index, U.S. city average of annual inflation (April to April) [Internet]. Washington (DC): BLS; 2010 [cited 2010 Aug 16]. Available from: http://data.bls.gov/PDQ/outside.jsp?survey=ce
6. U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Seasonally adjusted data from the Current Employment Statistics Survey (April to April) [Internet]. Washington (DC): BLS; 2010 [cited 2010 Aug 16]. Available from: http://data.bls.gov/PDQ/outside.jsp?survey=cu
7. The premium averages for highdeductible health plan with a savings option do not include any employer contributions to the savings option.
8. There are two types of deductibles for family coverage: an aggregate deductible, in which all covered expenses from family members count toward meeting the deductible amount; and a separate, per person deductible, in which each family member must meet his or her own deductible amount before coverage begins.
9. The average copayments and the average coinsurance for primary and specialty care and emergency room visits include workers who have both types of cost sharing.
10. We now count the 0.46 percent of large firms that indicate that they offer retiree coverage but have no retirees as offering retiree health benefits. Historical numbers have been recalculated so that the results are comparable.
11. If those firms that offer "other" types of wellness programs are included, the percentage offering at least one wellness benefit is 76 percent.
12. Fifteen percent of firms responded "not applicable" to this question. Some of those firms pay 100 percent of the cost of coverage, for example.
13. Averages and distributions exclude 1 percent of firms, which have no limit on the age at which dependents are no longer are eligible for coverage for the plan with the largest enrollment, and another 2 percent of firms, which have no limit for dependents who are full-time students.
14. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act [Internet]. Baltimore (MD): CMS; 2010 Apr 14 [cited 2010 Aug 13]. Available from: https://www.cms.gov/healthinsreformforconsume/04_thementalhealthparityact.asp